Experience

* Countless internal and external refits of cruising yachts over the last 30 plus years

* Manage maintenance on local cruising yachts over the off season in preparation for the upcoming cruising season

* Store and manage maintenance for overseas owned cruising yachts over the off season in preparation for the upcoming cruising season

Illustrative Case History of a Modern Cruising Yacht

Anthem is a 60ft aluminium cruising yacht that was owned by an Australian couple, who bought it on the east coast of the US and cruised for several seasons in the South Pacific. It had been coming to Robertson Boats for a number of years until they sold the boat and brought a new 75ft cruising launch.

It would arrive at the yard after the cruising season get hauled out, water blasted and placed on the hard stand where the maintenance and servicing work was managed for them along with any other work that needed to be done in preparation for the next cruising season. The general maintenance and servicing consisted of antifouling, small repairs, paint touch-ups, and a valet.

The engines were also thoroughly serviced along with all the mechanical systems, the genset and other electronic systems. Through close correspondence with the owners, they were kept up to date with the jobs and progress.

One visit to the yard revealed that the fridge/freezer on the boat wasn’t isolated from the hull therefore the insulating foam around the unit was filling a cavity between the hull and the units themselves. This had caused moisture to develop behind the foam against the hull due to condensation and was causing the aluminium to oxidize and corrode. It was badly pitted and the section of the hull behind the fridge/freezer had to be replaced.

The fridge and freezer units were removed and sent into the workshop where they were used as moulds in the construction of new fibreglass ones. The compromised section of the hull was cut out and sent away to the engineering shop where a new piece of aluminium was cut and rolled into the same shape and size. The paint was ground off the hull around where the new patch was to be installed and the aluminium surfaces were prepped. The new section was then welded in. The welds were ground back flush and the aluminium was primed for bogging. Once the primer had gone off the section was bogged out with microballons and faired up.

The new fridge and freezer had been laid up, removed from the moulds and were then gelcoated. They were now taken up to the boat and installed along with the original refrigeration system. The entire galley was then masked up to preserve the excellent finish on the timber cabinetry in prep for the insulation job. Holes had been cut in the bench tops around the new components and set up with funnels for the insulating expanding foam to be poured through them into the void.

The components had been reinforced so they didn’t collapse from the pressure of the foam expanding. The team had to work fast as the expanding foam cured fast and they had to pour as much into the void as possible before removing the funnels and blocking the holes. The more they poured in the denser it would be, providing better insulation. Once that was complete the masking was removed, the holes were fixed and the stainless bench top was reconstituted.

While the new fridge and freezer were being installed the painters were working on the repair. They had applied primer and undercoat to the bog. They then guide coated the undercoat and faired it up until the surface was smooth and then prepped it ready for the finish coat. The finish coat was then sprayed on and blended into the original paintwork. They achieved a very high quality finish and the repair never looked like it had been done. The new system was then tested it worked as it should.